In the case of turbo-machines, such as, for example, ship driving apparatuses, the propeller is currently the preferred current generating element. In principle, a propeller is a device which is mounted on a turning axle and which projects radially out of the axle circumference. Suitable propeller designs produce different effects corresponding to the respective requirements. In principle, propeller blades are used which project out obliquely from the rotational plane. When turning, the medium in which the propeller moves glides away from the blade edge of the propeller blades over its surface, because the medium striking after pushes the former medium away. This order of events is interrupted when, for example, in water, air reaches the propeller. The entire pressure formation that has been built-up collapses due to the thinner air and has to be built up again anew. Further disadvantages of the propeller are, for example, a turbulent current production, as well as a restricted range of the optimal effect. Also mention may be made of noise production, wear and tear, eddy formation and the causing of erosion in the surroundings. Additionally disadvantageous is that the periphery of the propeller moves at the brink of its physical capabilities, while at the same time the centre is practically inactive.
Therefore, on various occasions other devices for conversion of movement were developed, which are partly advantageous when utilized in turbo-machines.
For example, WO 01/01017 discloses a device for conversion of a rotational movement into a movement of a working lever defining a cone and a self-rotating movement of the working lever, or vice versa a movement of a working lever defining a cone and a self-rotating movement of the working lever into a rotational movement, in which the working lever is positioned in a non-rotatable manner in a lever bearing element. A rotatable rotational element is coupled with the working lever or the lever bearing element. The conversion of movement is made possible through the fact that the lever bearing element is swivelable around a swivel axis and is rotatable around a bearing rotation axis which is vertically standing on the swivel axis, and the bearing rotation axis and the swivel axis have a common point of intersection.
A disadvantage of this device for conversion of movement is its relatively complicated mechanical construction, in particular in relation to the bearing of the lever bearing element. In addition, it can not have several working levers due to the central arrangement of the working lever in the lever bearing element and the lever bearing element itself.
A mixer is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,539,436, in which a rotational movement is converted into a movement of a mixer rod defining a cone and a self-rotating movement of the mixer rod. The mixer rod is self-rotatably positioned in a rotational element as well as swivelably self-rotatably positioned in a further bearing part. When the mixer rod rotates in a cone shape, a self-rotation in the opposite direction is performed. This is effected through a toothed wheel arranged on the mixer rod, the toothed wheel rolling inside of a toothed rim. The self-rotation in the opposite direction has a greater rotation speed than the cone-shaped rotation, which admittedly leads to a good mixing effect, but however is disadvantageous for other uses, for example as a driving apparatus for a watercraft or an aircraft.
DE-A-42 16 531 discloses a rotor arrangement with several rotor blades, whose turning axes lie vertical to the direction of current of a medium. The rotor blades are rotatably arranged on a common supporting means around an axis vertical to the plane of the supporting means. The supporting means is pivoted around a central axis. In the case of the rotation around the supporting means axis, a pivoting of the rotor blades around their rotor blade axes is achieved by means of transmission means. By the use of the parallel arrangement of the rotor blade axes, the rotor blades need relatively a lot of space.
From FR-A-639 928 a device for conversion of a rotational movement into a movement of a working lever having a paddle and defining a cone and a self-rotating movement of the working lever is known, which comprises a lever bearing element rotatable around a rotation axis, in which the working lever is self-rotatably positioned around a self-rotation axis. A sun wheel is arranged around the rotation axis, with which a planetary wheel, which is arranged in a non-rotatable manner on the working lever, is coupled via toothed wheels, such that with a rotation of the lever bearing element around the rotation axis, on the one hand, due to the positioning in the lever bearing element, the working lever carries out a rotation in the same direction of rotation, and, on the other hand, due to the planetary wheel coupled via the toothed wheels to the sun wheel, the working lever carries out a self-rotation around the self-rotation axis in the opposite direction of rotation. The disclosed device realises a driving apparatus with wavelike-changing driving power.
In view of the disadvantages of the previously known, above described devices for conversion of movement, the object of the invention is to provide a device for conversion of movement of the type as mentioned in the introduction, which is utilisable for a great variety of uses and which has a simple mechanical construction. Preferably it should be able to have several working levers.